Sharing for personal growth and development
April 29, 2008 – 8:19 pmDidn’t your Mama teach you to share?
(photo courtesy of andrew mc d)
Sharing is easy while we’re children because we want everyone to enjoy the pleasures that we enjoy. Somewhere along about junior high school, that all changes. We start to exclude others while someone else sees fit to exclude us.
We start to form little cliques like:
- the “cool” kids
- the rich kids
- the gamers
- the freaks
- the jocks
- the nerds
- the suckups
- the slackers
Now that I’m older and look back on my life, I realize just how much of life you miss when you choose to alienate yourself. Why can’t we go back to that childlike innocence and share some of the things that we have?
1. Share you love
(photo courtesy of Noel Zia Lee)
Tell others how much they mean to you. Tell them that you love them. What they do with that knowledge is up to them, but I guarantee that you will feel much better – and so will they.
2. Share your thoughts
(photo courtesy of JasonRogers)
Let people know what you think about – especially your children. You’re a big mystery to your kids.
- They want to know why you do the things that you do.
- They want to know how you do the things you do.
- They want to hear stories of when you were a kid.
- They need to learn how to dream or create goals.
Children have a million thoughts running through their heads everyday and they don’t know that its normal to have that many. Explain everything to them. Answer their questions.
3. Share your opinions
(photo courtesy of Jan Tik)
Tell people what you believe and why. They may challenge your belief system. That’s good. Your views may be antiquated. You may need to revise you ideas or you may need to explain to them why you feel your opinions are correct.
4. Share your wisdom
(photo courtesy of Christina Snyder)
Be a mentor. Find someone and pass your knowledge to them. Help them avoid the pitfalls that you struggled through. Show them how to avoid the ruts in life. You’ll have a friend for life.
5. Share yourself
(photo courtesy of Tony the Misfit)
No person is complete while alone. You need others and they need you. It is when we give of ourselves that we are open to receiving the blessings that life can provide.
Sharing is easy once you get past all the cliques and petty divisions.
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2 Responses to “Sharing for personal growth and development”
Chris:
What a delightful, visual symphony here! I really enjoyed this post as it reminded me of the things that we’ve all forgotten about as kids.
I certainly remember the cliques that were a part of high school, even elementary school. The nerds, punks, smart, dumb were among the classes I remember being spouted in those days. Seems like it never goes away - all of these classifications seem to follow us into adulthood.
Great reminder! Thanks.
Stephen Hopson’s last blog post..End of the Week Gratitude Theme #17 - Video Post #3
By Stephen Hopson on Apr 30, 2008
Thanks for dropping by Stephen. Being around my children and answering their questions is a great source of inspiration for me.
I remember all the various groups and who was in them - I just can’t remember why it was so important to relegate yourself to one group or the other. A sense of belonging to something or being “cool”, I guess.
Anyway, I’m glad the we grow out of the crap.
By Chris Melton on May 1, 2008